"On seeing a soothsayer make public forecasts for money, Demonax said: 'I don't see on what ground you claim the fee: if you think you can change destiny in any way, you ask too little, however much you ask; but if everything is to turn out as Heaven has ordained, what good is your soothsaying?'" (Lucian, Demonax 37).

The business of seers or prophets has been
thought to be that of judging the signs of what is
yet to come:

Their occupation

For example, whether a man will meet death or
disease or loss of property, or in time of war,
whether he will meet victory or defeat. They often
interpreted the will of heaven by explaining
dreams, watching the flights of birds, or gazing at
the entrails of sacrificed victims.

Other sciences predict too

But as it has been pointed out, this is also
what other branches of knowledge do. For medicine
also surveys, besides past and present events, also
future ones, concerning itself not only with
diagnosis but also with prognosis. So does farming
too when monitoring the production of the earth in
all its phases. And similarly, a general or
commander in chief has to make forecasts and
predict the outcome of his campaigns, evaluating
the future results of all military operations that
are his responsibility. This is how things have
been, and that is why it has been observed that the
general gives orders to the seer and not the seer
to the general.

Great influence in some places

It has been said that priests, prophets, and
seers, who in the early times also practised music,
had sometimes great influence, and because of the
magnitude of their undertakings, they could win
high esteem, and in some cases, like in Egypt, no
king could rule without being a priest.

Some do not believe in them

Some have deemed the seers' dealings to be full
of falsehood, considering the sacrifices done by
them as unhealthy, and judging those believing that
birds can help mankind as utterly foolish. That is
why Theseus says:

"As for the
birds that fly above my head, I bid them a long
farewell." (Theseus. Euripides, Hippolytus 1057).

In a similar way spoke Hector 1 when, because
of a bird in the sky, his comrades wished to
persuade him not to attack:

"You would
have me base my actions on the flight of birds,
winged creatures who do not interest me at all. In
fact I do not care whether they fly to the right
towards the morning sun or to the left into the
western gloom." (Hector 1. Homer, Iliad 12.238).

These men think that nothing can be done or
known, either by a layman or a seer, if the gods do
not wish it to be done or known. And for that
reason they find it ridiculous to obey bad or good
omens, and they see no point in consulting the
prophets, whom they consider worthless. They would
not in any way resort to divination, which they
deem to be just a way of making a living. But
instead they consider sound judgment and
discernment as the best of seers, and think that
the unsurpassed method consists in addressing the
gods directly, ask a blessing, and forget about
divination, for whoever has the gods as friends
does not need prophecy. And that is also what Hector 1 meant, because
he continued:

"Let us
instead follow the counsel of Zeus, who governs both mortals and
immortals." (Hector 1. Homer, Iliad 12.240).

Instruments of the gods

And yet it has been also said that the minds of
the true seers, who are very few though many call
themselves prophets, are instruments of the gods,
and they do not utter words by themselves, but the
gods speak through them. Those who may be thought
to be true seers have been compared with great
poets, who compose not so much by wisdom and art
but by nature and divine inspiration. And it has
been said that when the seers are inspired they are
enraptured and possessed by the gods, and that is
why they succeed in uttering true oracles, but
themselves they know nothing of what they say.

False soothsayers

But for most men and women it has always been a
most difficult matter to tell the difference
between a charlatan and a true prophet. Specially
the rich are visited by the false soothsayers, who
claim they have accumulated power from the gods.
They even offer their services, at a low cost as
they say, if their employer wishes to harm anyone,
since they claim to control all kinds of spells and
enchantments. Or they may also offer him
purification for the deeds of injustice he has
committed, or forgiveness for his sins, or to
deliver him from evil. They claim to be able to do
all this through rites and prayers, and strange as
it seems, not only individuals may believe them but
even powerful states.

Barbarian seers sacrifice human beings

Some barbarian tribes have been reported to
sacrifice prisoners of war, which was performed by
priestesses who were seers. They met the prisoners
throughout the camp, and having crowned them with
wreaths, they led them to a raised platform, and
cut the throat of each prisoner. From the blood
that poured forth into a vessel, some of the
seeresses drew a prophecy, while others would split
open the body, and from inspecting the entrails,
they would utter yet more prophecies.

Barbarian seers put to death

And if as barbaric acts received their due
prize, sometimes the seers themselves, accused of
being false or worthless, were put to death. The Scythians have been
reported to burn their diviners, calling them false
prophets when they believed them to have proved to
be such. And when a seer was executed for the
reason of being an incompetent seer, he did not die
alone, for the king ordered to put to death all
males in their families, sparing only the females.

It may happen in civilized areas

The seer Calchas, who
was said to be the best of bird-diviners, and Tiresias, are both
reported to have recommended human sacrifice as a
remedy for various troubles, but this absurd custom
does not seem to have ever gained the gods'
approval.

List of SEERS

SEERS

Notes

Aesacus 1

This is the seer and interpreter of dreams who
declared that Paris was to
become the ruin of the country and advised that the
babe should be exposed. His father was King Priam 1 of Troy and his mother is sometimes called Arisbe and sometimes Alexiroe. Aesacus 1 loved Asterope 1, daughter of the river god Cebren. She was killed by the bite of a serpent, and as he mourned her, Aesacus 1 was turned into a diving bird. Apd.3.12.5; Ov.Met.11.750ff.

Alcander 1

A Molossian seer, son of Munichus (see below), son of Dryas 4, and Lelante. Their home was attacked by bandits, who put fire to their buildings. Zeus, then felt pity for them and turn them into various birds. Alcander 1 was turned into a kinglet. Lib.Met.14.

This is one of the generals among the SEVEN AGAINST
THEBES (see also Robe & Necklace of Harmonia 1). He foresaw that all who joined Adrastus 1 against Thebes would
perish. He refused at first to join the expedition
but was finally forced to go to war. When about to
be killed in the war, Zeus saved him by splitting the earth. Amphiaraus vanished
for ever and Zeus made him immortal (see SEVEN
AGAINST THEBES). Aes.Sev.569; Apd.1.8.2, 1.9.13, 1.9.16, 3.6.2-3,
3.6.6-8, 3.7.2; Cic.ND.2.7; Dio.4.32.3; Hyg.Fab.70,
73; Pau.5.17.7, 8.45.7, 9.5.15; Pin.Nem.9.24, 10.9;
Pin.Oly.6.13; Pin.Pyth.8.39ff.; Plu.GQ.23;
Stat.Theb.3.470, 7.818ff., 8.1.

Ampycus 1 (Ampyx 4)

Son of Elatus 6. He married Chloris 2 and had by her a son Mopsus 1 (see below), who also was a seer. Hyg.Fab.14, 128.

Andros

King of the island he named after himself. Apollo gave him the power
of augury. Andros was son of King Anius of Delos,
also father of the WINEGROWERS. Ov.Met.13.649.

It is said that the MUSES gave Aristaeus his bride Autonoe 2, daughter of Cadmus, and taught him
the arts of healing and of prophecy. He discovered
the olive and the honey, competing with the latter
against the wine of Dionysus 2, even
though he joined this god in his Indian War. Yet Zeus, they say, gave the
first prize to the wine. When his son Actaeon died he, out of
grief, migrated to Sicily. Aristaeus was son of Apollo and of Cyrene, one of the NYMPHS. His children by Autonoe 2 were Actaeon,
Macris, Charmus, and Callicarpus. It is said that
after dwelling some time near Mount Haemus in
Thrace he never was seen again by men and received
immortal honours. Aristaeus, who was a seer, was
instructed by the Centaur Chiron. Apd.3.4.4; Arg.2.500ff., 4.1131; Cic.ND.3.45;
Dio.4.81.1-3, 4.82.6; Hes.The.977; Nonn.5.215,
13.253ff., 13.298; Pau.10.17.3; Vir.Geo.4.318

Asbolus 1

Asbolus 1 is the Centaur and seer who attempted in vain to dissuade his friends from engaging in battle against the LAPITHS at Pirithous' wedding (see also CENTAURS). Ov.Met.12.308; Hes.SH.185.

Asilas 2

A seer and ally of Aeneas in Italy. He was a
master at divining from the entrails of sacrificed
beasts. Vir.Aen.10.175

Diviner from Mycenae who declared that Troy was
destined to be taken in a period of ten years. He
advised Agamemnon to
sacrifice Iphigenia in
Aulis. Calchas' father was Thestor 1, also a seer (see below). Calchas died when he met a wiser diviner than himself, which happened when he met Mopsus 2, after the fall of Troy.

Carnus

An Acarnanian, seer of Apollo. He established
the cult of Apollo Carneus among the Dorians. He was thought to be a Peloponessian spy and was killed by the Heraclid Hippotes 2 (see HERACLIDES). Pau.3.13.4.

Apollo taught her the
art of prophecy wishing to gain her favors, but as
she refused him Apollo deprived her prophecy of the power to persuade. She
warned the Trojans about the WOODEN HORSE.

Crius 2

A seer, in whose house Carneus was worshipped
while Sparta was still
Achaean. Son of Theocles, a Lacedaemonian. Pau.3.13.3.

Daphne 2

Daughter of Tiresias. Daphne 2 was captured by the EPIGONI after the fall of Thebes,
and she was taken to Delphi where she became a
prophetess. Dio.4.66.5-6.

Demo 1 (Sibyl 3)

Cumaean Sibyl. No oracle given by her was
preserved. A stone urn in the sanctuary of Apollo kept her bones.
She could have been the Sibyl that led Aeneas. Pau.10.12.8.

Ennomus 1

Seer and leader of the Mysians, Trojan allies (see TROJAN
LEADERS). He was son of Arsinous 1, and was killed by Odysseus during the Trojan War. Apd.Ep.3.34ff.; Hom.Il.2.858; Ov.Met.13.260.

Glaucus 4

King Minos 2 of Crete, father of Glaucus 4, would not let the seer Polyidus 1 depart to Argos until he had taught Glaucus 4 the art of divination. Polyidus 1 taught him on compulsion, and when he was sailing away he bade Glaucus 4 spit into his mouth. Glaucus 4 did so and forgot the art of divination. While Glaucus 4 was still a child, in chasing a mouse he fell into a jar of honey and was drowned but later raised from the dead by Asclepius or Polyidus 1. Glaucus 4's mother was either Crete 1 or Pasiphae. Apd.3.3.1-2, 3.10.3; Hyg.Fab.49

Halitherses

Son of Mastor 2 and soothsayer from Ithaca who warned the SUITORS
OF PENELOPE and was an old friend of the House
of Odysseus. Hom.Od.2.157ff, 17.68.

Helenus 1 was forced
to tell the Achaeans how Troy could be taken (see Trojan War). Helenus 1 was son of
King Priam 1 of Troy and Hecabe 1, and became king of Epirus after the Trojan War. He married Achilles' wife Deidamia 1, and later Hector 1's
wife Andromache, by
whom he had a son Cestrinus. Apd.3.12.5; Apd.Ep.5.10, 6.13; Cic.ND.2.7;
Eur.Hec.89; Hom.Il.6.76, 13.593; Hyg.Fab.90;
Pau.1.11.1, 10.25.5; QS.8.254; Soph.Phi.606, 1338;
Vir.Aen.3.295

Herophile (Sibyl 2)

Herophile became the second Sibyl at Delphi. She prophesied
that Helen would be the
ruin of both Asia and Europe. She was the daughter
of Thedorus, a shepherd from Corycios (a rock on
the coast of Asia Minor in Cilicia) and a Nymph.
Herophile died near Troy (see also Sibyl 6 Cumaean). Pau.10.12.1-2, 12.6-7.

Iamus

From Iamus descended the diviners called
Iamides. He is a son of Apollo & Evadne 3, daughter of Poseidon & Pitana. Pau.6.2.5; Pin.Oly.6.28ff.

Iapis

Iapis had powers of divination and music, given
by Apollo, and applied
curative herbs to Aeneas' wound. He was son of Iasus 4. Vir.Aen.12.391.

Idmon 2

This seer died during the voyage of the ARGONAUTS. Some say he was killed by a boar in the land of the Mariandynians, people inhabiting an area of the southern coast of the Black Sea, but others say he died of disease. Idmon 2 was son of Cyrene, either by Apollo or by Abas 3, son of Melampus 1 (see below). Apd.1.9.23; Arg.2.815ff.; Hyg.Fab.14, 17, 248;
Nonn.38.29; Val.1.360, 5.2.

Laocoon 2, like Cassandra, warned the
Trojans against the WOODEN HORSE. He and his sons Antiphantes and Thymbraeus 1, were killed by two serpents that Apollo or Athena sent from Tenedos,
the island off the coast of the Troad. Laocoon 2 was son of Acoetes 1. Apd.Ep.5.17; Hyg.Fab.135; QS.12.391; SI.1;
Vir.Aen.2.214ff.

Lavinia 3

Lavinia 3 is said to have embarked in Delos with the exiled Trojans after having been given by her father Anius to Aeneas as
a prophetess and a wise woman. She died of illness
at the time when Aeneas was building a city in Italy and some say he called
it Lavinium after her. DH.1.59.3.

Maeon 1

This seer was among the Thebans who laid an
ambush for Tydeus 2 when
he returned from Thebes. Tydeus 2 killed all the
fifty armed men who waited for him as he went away
from Thebes, except Maeon 1, who later killed himself. He was son of Haemon 1 and Antigone 2 (but see additional notes about him at Antigone 2). Apd.3.6.5; Hom.Il.4.395; Hyg.Fab.72;
Stat.Theb.2.693, 3.87.

Manto 1

Seeress, priestess of Apollo and daughter of Tiresias. By Alcmaeon 1 she was mother of Amphilochus 2 and Tisiphone 2. By Rhacius she had Mopsus 2; and by Mincius she became mother of Ocnus 2. Apd.3.7.7; EPIG.3; Hes.Mel.1; Hyg.Fab.128;
Pau.7.3.1, 9.33.2, 9.36.2; Stat.Theb.4.463ff.,
10.639; Strab.9.5.22, 14.1.27; Vir.Aen.10.191.

Melampus 1

An excellent soothsayer able to understand the language of birds and worms. He was the first to devise a cure by means of drugs and purifications. Son of Amythaon 1, son of Cretheus 1, son of Aeolus 1, son of Hellen 1, son of Deucalion 1, the man who survived the Flood. Melampus 1 became king of Argos. Melampus 1's wife was either Iphianira 1 or Pero 2; by one of them he had children: Abas 3, Antiphates 3, Mantius, Bias 5, Pronoe 3, Manto 3, and Thiodamas 3. Apd.1.9.11-13, 2.2.2; Dio.4.68.3-5; Hdt.2.49; Hes.GE.12; Hom.Od.15.242; Prop.2.4.51-53;
Stat.Theb.3.453, 8.279; Vir.Geo.3.550.

Merops 1

This is the seer who taught his grandson Aesacus 1 (see above) the interpretation of dreams. He tried in vain to dissuade his sons from risking their lives in war at Troy. Merops 1 was father of Arisbe, Adrastus 3, Amphius 1, and Clite 2. Apd.3.12.5; Apd.Ep.3.35; Arg.1.975;
Hom.Il.2.828ff.

Mopsus 1

Son of Ampycus 1 (see above), also a seer. He is one of the ARGONAUTS and, during the voyage, was killed by a serpent
while wandering at the furthest ends of Libya. Yet
he was among those who fought against the CENTAURS at Pirithous' wedding,
and is also found among the CALYDONIAN
HUNTERS. AO.948; Arg.1.80, 4.1502ff.; Hes.SH.181;
Hyg.Fab.14, 173; Ov.Met.12.456; Stat.Theb.5.417;
Strab.9.5.22; Val.1.384, 3.420.

Mopsus 2

This is the seer (son of Manto 1, daughter of Tiresias) who drove the
Carians out of their country. He defeated Calchas in the art of divination. Mopsus 2 was killed in a fight with his half-brother Amphilochus 2 (they killed each other). Apd.Ep.4.19, 6.3; Hes.Mel.1; Pau.7.3.1;
Strab.9.5.22, 14.1.27, 14.5.16.

Munichus

King over the Molossians and a good seer. The
whole of his family were attacked by robbers who
put fire to their buildings, but before the flames
took him Zeus turned him into a sparrow hawk. Father by Lelante of Alcander 1, Megaletor, Philaeus 2, and Hyperippe 3. Munichus was son of Dryas 4. Lib.Met.14.

Olen

An Hyperborean, who together with Pagasus 1 and Agyieus, established the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. He was also the
first to prophesy there. Pau.10.5.7-8.

King and seer from Salmydessus in Thrace who had lost the sight of both eyes. He is variously alleged to have been blinded by the gods for foretelling men the future; or by Boreas 1 (see WINDS) and the ARGONAUTS because he
blinded his own sons at the instigation of their
stepmother; or by Poseidon, because he revealed to the children of Phrixus 1 how they could sail from Colchis to Greece (see also ARGONAUTS).

Pholus 1

Pholus 1 was more skilled in prophecy than other CENTAURS. The mountain
Pholoe, in eastern Elis near the Arcadian border, was named after him. Pholus 1 let fall one of the poisoned arrows of Heracles 1 on his foot
and died. He was son of Silenus and a Meliad Nymph (see also CENTAURS and CONSTELLATIONS). Apd.2.5.4; Dio.4.12.3, 4.12.6-8; Hyg.Ast.2.38;
Ov.Met.12.306.

Phrasius 2

Phrasius 2 was a seer, immigrant from Cyprus in Egypt, who prescribed human sacrifices as a remedy for dearth. He was in fact the first to be sacrificed by King Busiris 2 of Egypt, following his own prescription. Apd.2.5.11.

Polyidus 1

Son of Coeranus 1, son of Abas 3, son of Melampus 1 (see above this last name and Glaucus 4). Polyidus 1 is father of Euchenor 2, Manto 2, and Astycratea. Glaucus 4 (son of Minos 2), while he was yet a child, in chasing a mouse fell into a jar of honey and was drowned. On his disappearance his father made a great search, but only Polyidus 1 was able to find him by means of divination. But Minos 2 wanted his son alive, so Polyidus 1, applying an herb to the body of Glaucus 4, raised him from the dead. Apd.3.3.1; Hom.Il.13.663; Hyg.Fab.128;
Pau.1.43.5.

Polyphides 2

Polyphides 2 was made a seer by Apollo, and has been
called the best of mortals, after Amphiaraus' death (see this name above). Polyphides 2 was son of Mantius, son of Melampus 1 (see above), and father of Theoclymenus 1 (see below). Hom.Od.15.249ff.

Son of Poseidon. An
Old Man of the Sea. A seer who knows past, present
and future but is reluctant to answer questions. By
his art he changed his real figure for a false
semblance, but soon returned to his true form.

Rhamnes

An ally king of king Turnus against Aeneas in Italy, who also was a seer. He was killed by Nisus 3, one of the participants in the games held by Aeneas in Sicily and the lover of Euryalus 7, another participant in the same games. Vir.Aen.9.325.

Sabbe (Sibyl 4)

A seeress who grew up among the Hebrews in
Palestine, though some call her Babylonian and
others Egyptian. She was the daughter of Berosus
& Erymanthe. Pau.10.12.9.

Scirus 1

Scirus 1 was a seer who came from Dodona at the time of the war between Eleusis and Athens. He was killed in
this war, and the place Scirum near Eleusis was named after
him. Pau.1.36.4.

Sibyl 1

Sibyl is a surname, but this daughter of Zeus & Lamia 1 is the first woman who chanted the oracles at Delphi. Lamia 1 is daughter of Poseidon. Pau.10.12.1.

This is the seer who warned the Cyclops Polyphemus 2 that a
man called Odysseus would rob him of his sight. Telemus is son of
Eurymus. Hom.Od.9.509; Ov.Met.13.770.

Theoclymenus 1

This is the seer who, having killed a man in Argos, sought sanctuary
with Odysseus' son Telemachus when he was about to sail back to Ithaca. Some say he was son of Polyphides 2 (see above), but others say he was son of Thestor 1 (see below). Hom.Od.15.249ff.; Hyg.Fab.128.

Thestor 1

Thestor 1's daughter Theonoe 1 was stolen by pirates. Having gone in search of her, Thestor 1 came, as a result of shipwreck, to Caria where he reunited with her after going through certain difficult circumstances. Father of Calchas (see above), Leucippe 3, Theonoe 1, and Theoclymenus 1. Hyg.Fab.97, 128, 190.

Thiodamas 3

Son of Melampus 1 (see above) and seer who followed Adrastus 1 in
his campaign of the SEVEN AGAINST
THEBES. His mother was Iphianira 1, daughter of Megapenthes 2, son of Proetus 1, twin brother of Acrisius, father of Danae. Dio.4.68.3-5; Stat.Theb.8.279.